[lmi] LMI Help Proposal

[Ericksberg, Richard]

The following represents what the LMI Help Project Team has decided how
Help Will work in LMI:

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*                              LMI Help Proposal
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  Authors: Rick Ericksberg / Kara Raabe
  Date:    2006/05/16

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*                                   Purpose
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To define how Help functionality will work in LMI.

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*                          Definitions / Explanations
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What was formally called "Context Help" is now called "What's This?"
Help as Context Help [or Context Sensitive Help] is really a broader
term and therefore a better name was needed.

F1 Help is another form of Context Sensitive Help giving more detail
than
"What's This?" Help.    

The main help dialog window will be referred to as HTML Help.

[Currently grayed out] Help Buttons will be removed from the modal
dialogs in favor of F1 Help.

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*                                   Tooltip
*
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What is it ?

  A little yellow box with text appearing over the control.

How is it invoked ?

  Anytime the mouse pointer hovers over the control. Disappears when the
pointer
  moves away.

What does it give you ?

  A brief [one or two word] explanation of "what" the control is [e.g.
Cut,
  Copy, Paste.]

Where is it appropriate ?

  High-level controls [navigational] such as main window toolbar buttons
that
  usually only have a picture.

When is it available ?

  Always, whether or not the control is.

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*                             "What's This?" Help
*
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What is it ?

  A yellow box with text that appears in the vicinity of the control.

How is it invoked ?

  1) By Clicking on the "?" button [i.e. activating the "? Cursor"] and
then
     clicking the control [not preferred - shifts user's focus away from
     the control in question.]

  2) By right-clicking on the control [giving a "What's This?" pop-up]
and
     then clicking the pop-up [preferred - keeps user's focus on the
control in
     question.]

  Remains on the screen until the mouse is clicked or there is keyboard
entry.
  
What does it give you ?

  More detailed than a tooltip but brief explanation of the use of that
field
  or some other useful information to help the user make a selection or
provide
  a valid value for that field. Basically the minimum necessary to be
able to
  understand the control. 

Where is it appropriate ?

  Lower-level controls [data entry, selection etc.] 
 
When is it available ?

  Always, whether or not the control is. If there is no useful statement
about
  a control, "What's This?" will evoke "Sorry Not Available..." or
something
  like that.

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*                                    F1 Help
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What is it ?

  A method to get to a specific location within HTML Help.

How is it invoked ?

  By pressing F1 for any control that has the focus.

What does it give you ?

  Launches HTML Help [if not already active.] The user will be located
in HTML
  Help at an appropriate topic corresponding to the context of the
control that
  has the focus. This gives the most detailed Help for a control.

  If no control has the focus, the user will be located at the top of
the HTML
  Help dialog.

Where is it appropriate ?

  Lower-level controls [data entry, selection etc.] same as "What's
This?"

When is it available ?

  Always, whether or not the control is.

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*                                   HTML Help
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What is it ?

  The Main Help Dialog.

How is it invoked ?

  1) By clicking the desired selection within the Help menu.

  2) By clicking the Help toolbar button which on the main window.  

  3) As previously stated via F1 Help.  

What does it give you ?

  The standard Contents, Index and Search navigational facilities for
Help.
  The most detailed Help.

Where is it appropriate ?

  Its generic nature make it appropriate anywhere.

When is it available ?

  Always. One caveat: When a modal window is active, the main menu and
toolbar
  buttons are unavailable. However, HTML Help can still be accessed via
F1 Help
  and normal navigation of it could proceed at that point. 

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*                                 End Proposal
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